Podcast/Blog

SNAP CHALLENGE | #BeyondAthleticSnapStory Challenge

People just don't get what we do day to day as international athletes!

What's The Challenge?

Let's show the world what we do to make our dreams reality in one day.... Must be 18 yrs old to enter this challenge. From start to finish we want to see a day in your student-athlete or pro athlete life....

Foreigners are 100% welcomed and actually we ASK you to participate primarily...

Why Should Athletes Do This?

How many times do your friends just not get how life is for you while abroad? Well, show them! :)

Also, some lucky winners will be part of a short film highlighting the lives of several international athletes from sun up to sun down and in-between! Be creative! Be You! Be More Than Athletic!

We Interviewed 5 Starters@ Partizan Men's Club...

Video Links for Interviews COMING SOON! English Text First | Serbian Text Second

ENGLISH TEXT

Volleyball players of Partizan are the only undefeated team in the Wiener Städtische national championship of Serbia. They say they owe huge credits to an American, a man who brought them recipe for good results.

Ryan Jay Owens, a former USA national team player, from the beginning of this season often trains with Partizan and he claims that his goal is to transfer his knowledge to young players.

Marko Nikolić, Partizan’s outside hitter, has told us how they started the cooperation with Ryan.

- A few years ago Ryan came to Serbia and asked to train with us. We accepted him and since then he became the part of this team. We became friends, I can even say a family. When he first came he needed us, now we’re the ones who need him – said Marko.

Marko has also told us that their cooperation with Ryan had been a secret of their success this season.

- Training with Ryan has helped us a lot. It’s priceless to have someone with such an experience next to you. That’s why I gladly accept his advices and critiques – said Marko.

- His method of communication, our friendly relation, but also the authority that he is trying to impose – it has all contributed to our progress and better work – added Neven Majstorović, also the outside hitter of the best team in the standings, to this conversation.

- His advices have helped us to improve our motoric abilities and mental perception of the game – said Bojan Rajković, the libero of this team.

The American national team is well-known for its specific way of warming-up before the game and it’s impossible not to think that must be the key of success of the best national team in the world. The players of Partizan have told us that it was the first time they trained in such a way when they met Ryan, but today they are already used to those innovations.

- In the beginning it was hard for me to accept that way of warming-up because I wasn’t used to it. But now I can honestly say that it’s the best way of warming-up I’ve ever done! And I think it has helped a lot in preventing injuries – said Marko and his teammates agreed.

- I’ve noticed that the other teams look at as strangely during the warm-up, probably because they aren’t used to it. I personally like that way of training – said Dušan Lopar, Partizan’s middle blocker.

Players of this Belgrade team have told us that Ryan gives an effort not just to improve their physical condition but also to learn them how to avoid stress and all the problems that can befall an athlete.

- Once, after the game, Ryan wanted to talk to us. He told us about his experiences and tried to motivate us. There was a sentence that I remember clearly, he said ‘Hardly any team in the world is unbeaten in the national championship, that’s why I want you to feel like you should feel – like a champions! You should leave all the problems aside!’ – said Marko.

- He knows the conditions in which we train and knows how hard it is to us. He made a motivational speech and pointed that he understands and supports us – said Neven.

Partizan’s players have also discovered to us that Ryan suggested them a 10–day challenge, with the aim to avoid stress and forget about the problems they have.

- He suggested us breathing exercises, a kind of meditation. I accepted the challenge and started doing it the next morning. I was a bit sceptikal about it but I have to admit that I already see the difference. I have to say that the mental cooperation that we have with Ryan is the best I’ve ever had in other teams – said 24 years old spiker Milija Mrdak.

The other interviewees have also accepted the challenge. They say they think it can only help them and that is worth trying.

These young athletes are now waiting for the play-off part of the competition and they hope to stay unbeaten until they win the trophy. We wish them to break a leg!